I agree that the O-line sucked enormously large donkey balls but how many times did BR double or triple pump a throw and then get sacked. I recall screaming at the TV at least 6 times saying just throw the damn ball.

Basically I am not putting it all on the O-line, Ben just doesn't get rid of it sometimes. Oh and the playcalling is garbage, that I do agree with.

Not to mention, they threw more guys than our OL could pick up. JMO, but when it's that ugly up front, BA needs to make the adjustment. There's going to be something out in the flats, or short routes where we can pass for 5 yards on a mismatch, but I saw no evidence of that.

And we used the no huddle exactly zero times. ZERO.

Wouldn't that seem to be an effective option to back down the blitz? Huh?

Word for word, man. Word for fucking word.

How many times were they going to show a replay where I counted 5, 6, 7 (!!) guys coming and Pittsburgh did nothing to counteract it. Zip.

I've heard that Arians scripts something like his first 30 plays or so and I distinctly got the impression that he wasn't deviating from that regardless of what the defense was doing.

C'mon. They've just blitzed like 5 out of the last 6 and you're lining up in a single back, trips bunch formation where the WRs could basically reach out and fondle the TEs sack?? Spread those fuckers ou-t. 4 wide; sideline to sideline; use motion that actually forces the defense to do something. You pretty much already know that they're playing straight up, why not motion to free up an area? Nah, let's motion Ward in, then back or in to be stacked on a TE (obv running play).

This was my gripe last year and it still holds true, I don't have a problem with favoring the pass over the run, but you've still gotta do a good job of choosing the correct play. No huddle would've definitely helped. 3 step or shotgun quick strikes (read: '07 Pastries) would've helped too. Mix it up with the run from those sets as well.

Honestly, it felt like they were in Pittsburgh's huddle or maybe as I've feared, Arians really is that bad.

Well, this answers all of my questions before I even need to ask them.

Didn't see the game (mercifully). Fortunately I had church stuff. Much better to focus on the Lord than on what must have been a burnt offering to Baal.

My main questions: Was it just piss-poor oline play? Or did Bruce & Ben muck it up trying to throw the 30-yard post all night? Sounds like there was plenty of both.

I am sure that we got exposed up front. But IMO, it is the COACH'S responsibility to make the necessary adjustment to what the defense was doing. We knew Philly was going to blitz all night, and it sounds like we didn't prepare for that before the game or adjust to it during the game. When are Tomlin and BA going to realize that, in this league, you don't win if you don't make adjustments?

We griped about this when Cowher was coaching, and it looks like the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The OL got nuked. Of the 9 sacks, 6.5 were by defensive lineman. While the blitz was disruptive, the line completely failed at bocking the people directlyt in front of them. Of the remaining 2.5 sacks, 1 was by Dawkins and 1.5 was by a linebacker. Now maybe the stats with respect to pressures and hits on Ben will show something different, but this was their defensive line completely kicking the butt of our OL. The blitzes were just the condiments on top of the main course.

Its possible to say that Ben was fixated on 30 yard patterns, but since he only threw the ball once that far its impossible to say. There was no pocket (at all), I think, for any of the times he dropped back.

The OL got nuked. Of the 9 sacks, 6.5 were by defensive lineman. While the blitz was disruptive, the line completely failed at bocking the people directlyt in front of them. Of the remaining 2.5 sacks, 1 was by Dawkins and 1.5 was by a linebacker. Now maybe the stats with respect to pressures and hits on Ben will show something different, but this was their defensive line completely kicking the butt of our OL. The blitzes were just the condiments on top of the main course.

Its possible to say that Ben was fixated on 30 yard patterns, but since he only threw the ball once that far its impossible to say. There was no pocket (at all), I think, for any of the times he dropped back.

There were also at least 3 times where Ben would have been sacked and he gained an inch or two falling forward.

Logged

It's a hot night. The mind races. You think about your knife; the only friend who hasn't betrayed you, the only friend who won't be dead by sun up. Sleep tight, mates, in your quilted Chambray nightshirts.

"It was 10-6 in the fourth quarter and the feeling on our sideline was like we were down 28-3," Simmons said. "That isn't right, man ...

"I'm going to bite my tongue. All I'm going to say is they were bringing more people than we could handle. We can block five or six. But when they bring six or seven or eight people, there's nothing we can do."

Ridiculous. Most of the pressure was by down guys, not 'backers or safeties. Hell, half the camera shots you could see Simmons and Hartwig standing around digging in their jocks while guys went by untouched.

"It was 10-6 in the fourth quarter and the feeling on our sideline was like we were down 28-3," Simmons said. "That isn't right, man ...

"I'm going to bite my tongue. All I'm going to say is they were bringing more people than we could handle. We can block five or six. But when they bring six or seven or eight people, there's nothing we can do."

Ridiculous. Most of the pressure was by down guys, not 'backers or safeties. Hell, half the camera shots you could see Simmons and Hartwig standing around digging in their jocks while guys went by untouched.

IMO, that confusion is partly on the players, but a good bit is on Zierlein's shoulders, and even more on BA and Tomlin for not having those quick-action plays ready to counter. Jimmy Johnson simply out-schemed us. Proves you can get pressure and sacks without rushing 7-8 guys.

Good stats finny. Shows that the OL was getting beat straight up and in the one on one battles. And really rushing 6 guys shouldn't be that big of a problem, considering you have a TE and a RB to help. Seems like the Eagles zone blitz scheme rattled the OL, which shouldn't happen, considering they practice against a D that does a lot of the same stuff. It was a complete meltdown. The Perfect Storm of losing individual battles/matchups, idiotic non adjusting playcalling, a QB who holds onto the ball a little to long, and a comprehensive failure of executing the correct blocking scheme for the situation.

My take is

25% fault of the OL- I know that might seem low, but go back to your expectations for the unit in July. You would expect them to stuggle against good talent

15% Ben- I know you don't want to throw an INT Ben, but throw it the fuck away once in a while. When you have time to pump 3 times, you have time to throw it away

60% fault of the coaches- If I can post, along with many others, on an internet blog for fans several days before the game that A) The Eagles will blitz on every down and distance and B) Quick passes, draws, no huddle, and RB screens, would do well , how the fuck can professional coaches at the highest level not figure it out? Was it after the 4th, 5th 6th, or 7th sack that BA might have had misgivings about his gameplan? What game was he watching? Maybe he needs to go up to the booth and take a broader look at the game and get off the sidelines. And Tomlin has to take some responsiblity for not insisting in the second quarter that something change.

When your QBs get sacked 9 times, there is no way that any offensive lineman should be making excuses. There is no excuse for it. Talk about that stuff in the meetings or whatever, but publicly you need to be humble and contrite because you just got your butt blown off the football.